Paper feeder



y 0, 1934. L. R. TUFTS PAPER FEEDER Filed Jan. 25, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ms 4! m u V W R B I s E L 7 #001104 v 71 6441 a AT ORNEYS L. R. TUFTS 1,966,400

PAPER FEEDER Filed Jan. 23, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 10, 1934.

I 1 I- i Q G 2 M NE 3 a km w 7 mm. a w \w T Hi u :4 k a INVENTOR Lesle R. Tufis.

,Vudrm ATTORNEYS Ill I? 7 W 3 5.1 5:? a v w July 10, 1934. R u s 1,966,400

PAPER FEEDER Fild Jan. 23, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 5. 74 7.5-

INVENTOR ATTORNEY 5- Patented July 10, 1934 mcsne assignments, to The Cleveland Folding -"Maehine C'ompany, Mentor Township, Ohio, at

corporation of Ohio Application January 2i, 1931; Serial No. 510,636 7 s Claims. (o1;192 12e This invention relates to improvements .in paper feeders, that is to say machines for feeding sheets'of paper to folding machines, print-' ing machines or the like. The machine of the present invention resembles'in many respects that disclosed in Patent No. 1,704,207 to Andrew Olson, embodying certain improvements thereover.

One of the objects of the. present invention is the provision of a friction clutch connection in the power drive which shall be simple in form,

subject to little'wear and highly'effective in op-' eration', while capable of easy disengagement by automatic means in'the event that the orderly feeding of sheets should be interrupted in some the machine of the Olson patent, above referred to, the pile mechanism remainsconnected with the power source when the sheet feed'is inter rupted by operationof the sheet detector. I That machine comprises a means for manually disconnecting .the power from thismechanism, but should the operator forget to use "this discone. necting means and attempt tooperate the m'echanism manually, he will receive through his op-:

erating crank an unpleasant. jerkKIn the case of theipresent machine such a condition isimpossible for the reason that thevpile mechanism,

is automatically disconnected from the power source whenever the sheet feeder is disconnected.

Other objects and features of novelty will appear as I proceed with a description of that em- I bodiment oftheinvention'which', for the'purposes of the present application, I"have illus-" trated in the accompanying drawings, in which" Figure 1 is 'aapartial side elevational viewof a pile feeder arranged in operative relation with 3 I course limited :bytheengagement of the pawl" a folding machine.

Fig.2 is a planrview 'of thesame, partly in" the :crank 28 turns the pitman 2'7 will be reciprosection uponithe line 2-,-2 of Fig. 1.1. a

r Fig: 3 is averticalitransverse sectionalview'= taken substantially on the line 3+3of Fig."2..

Fig. 4 is a fragmental .elevational view, on a larger scale illustrating the clutch andits disengaging means.

that of Fig. 4, partly in section 5.5,of thelatter'figure. I Fig. 6 is anelevational. view ii r ls" mech:

anism viewed from the opposite side of the machine, and I Fig. 7 he plan view. of the same;

In the drawings a portion of the framework of a pile feeder is shown at 10 and a fragment of a folding machine framework at 11. The pile support is illustrated at 12, being movable up and down in suitable guides. At opposite ends of this support there. are attached chains 13 which extend upwardly over sprockets 14 and carry on their extremities suitable counter-balancing weights 15.i The sprockets 14 are mounted upon a shaft 16 near the opposite ends thereof. This shaft also carriers a'worm wheel 17 which-meshes with a worm-18 on a shaft 19, to the opposite end of which is attached a bevel gear 20. The shaftl9, as will be-seen by reference to Fig. 2, is mountedintermediate its ends in a bearing carried ,bya bracket 21. This bracket also supports a .bearing for one. end. of a shortshaft 22 that has a second bearing in the frame member 10 of the machine'and carries a bevel gear 23 which meshes with the gear 20. l

Upon: the shaft 22 outside of the machine frame there is a ratchet wheel 24 whose hub' is pinned tothe shaft as indicated at 25 in Fig. Loosely supported .upon'this same shaft between the ratchet wheel'24 andthe. frame of the machine'isa rock lever26. One arm of this leveris pivotally connected with a. pitman 27, whose opposite pextremity ,is 'pivotally attached to a crank 28 fixed upon a shaft 29 to which further reference will be made later. The other arm of the rocklever 26. is of irregular shape and carries" a pintle '30 upon which is oscillatably supported the hub 31' of a pawl 32 that is adapted to cooperate'with the ratchet wheel'24; The hub 31 also carries arms33 and 34. The extremity of arm 33 has a double bevel which enables the arm to be swung past a spring-pressed'detent 35 carried J upon the lever 26.. A boss '36 on the lever stops the movement of the arm 33 in one direction."

Itsvmovement' in the"oppositedirection is of 32 .with its'ratchet." It will be obvious that af's upon theshaft 22 without doing any work, thatis" when the pawl 32 is in the position illustrated in Fig; 6. .x I MY Airock shaft. 37- mounted in one wall of-themachineframe carries an arm 38 upon-which is mounted a feeler wheelg39 "which: is adaptedto' rest upon the top :of::the-;pile of sheets and to move .withsaid'pile. Outside the machine frame Y with friction inserts 68.

there is loosely mounted upon the shaft 37 an arm 40, upon the end of which there is a cam follower 41 which runs upon the contour of a cam 42 mounted upon the shaft 29. Integral with the arm 40 there is an oppositely extending arm 43 which is engaged bya coil spring 44 in a small housing 45 that is rigidly supported upon the shaft 37. An adjusting screw 9, threaded in the top of the housing 45, and adapted to beheld in adjusted position by a lock nut 8, bears against the top of arm 43, and by this means the angular position of the arm 40 with respect to the arm 38 may be regulated to a nicety. A trip lever 46 is mounted at 4'? in a bracket 48 attached to the frame. At its upper end this lever carries a trip 49 which is adapted to engage the arm 34 when the lever 46 is thrown to the left away from its position illustrated in Fig. 6. Pins 50 and 5-1, threaded into bosses 52 and 53 respectively, serve as adjustable stops to limit the movements of the lever 46. On the lower end of that lever there is a projection 54 which is adapted to be engaged by a finger 55 on the arm 40. As the pile of sheets descends, the feeler 39 descends and permits the follower 41 to run upon the low spots of the cam 42. When this action proceeds far enough the finger 55 swings the lever 46 over to the left, bringing the trip 49 into positionto engage the arm 34 on the next downward stroke of the latter. Such engagement swings the-hub 31 upon the pintle 30 and forces the arm 33 over the detent 35, thereby snapping the pawl 32 into operative relation with the ratchet 24. On the next up-- ward movement of the pawl therefore the ratchet .will be given a rotative impulse which will be communicated through the shaft 22, bevel gears 23, 29, shaft 19, worm l8 and worm wheel 17 to shaftv 16, upon which the sprockets 14 are mounted. The slight rotation thus transmitted to the shaft 16 will produce a small upward movement of the pile support 12, which will enable the pile to raise the feeler 39. The follower 41 in the meantime will have riddenonto the high part of'the cam 42, whereby thefinger 55 will have moved away from the projection 54,

permitting the lever 46,.which is overbalanced to again assume by gravity the position illustrated in Fig. 6. Just prior to'the end of the active stroke of the pawl 32 the arm 34 encounters an adjustable stop 7 which throws the pawl outof operative relation with the ratchet wheel and causes the arm 33 to ride over the detent 35, whereby the pawl is again held out of operative position until such time as the pile descends sufficiently to again cause the trip 49 to be brought into position to catch the arm 34 on a downward stroke of the latter. It will be understood that the stop 7 is so set and adjusted that it just clears the arm 34 when the pawl 32 is in the inoperative position illustrated in Fig. 6.

Referring again to Fig. 1, is a belt by means of which power may be transmitted from a motor (not shown) to a pulley 61 on the folding'machine.

a V-belt 64 which runs over one of a second pair of sheaves 65 and 66. The latter sheaves are rigidly and preferably integrally connected together and with a clutch element 67 that is faced These inserts normally engage one face of a clutch element 69 which consists of a circular plate or disk that is pinned to a shaft 70 which is capable of a slight longitudinal movement. The shaft 70 carries a feed roll '71. At its remote end it is rotatably mounted Rigidly attached to the pulley 61 area pair of sheaves 62 and 63, each. adapted to receive in a bearing 72 for which there is a cover 73 that is secured to the frame of the machine by bolts or studs 74. In this cover there is threada'oly mounted an adjusting screw '75 which serves to move one abutment of a coil spring 76, the opposite end of the spring engaging the roll '71. The spring'76 therefore tends to move the shaft '70 endwise and to hold the clutch elements 67 and 69 in engagement.

The sheaves 65, 66 and clutch element 67, which are preferably integral, are freely rotatable upon the shaft '70. Their movement away from the clutch element 69 is prevented by a bracket 7'7. Inother' words the bracket 77 takes the reaction of spring 76 transmitted by shaft '71 through the two clutch elements, 69 and 67. Extending inwardly from one side of the bracket 77 there is a bearing boss '78 in which is mounted the shank of a bolt '79 that serves as a trunnion, its threaded end being screwed into a yoke 80 which is thereby supported by the trunnion so that it may partake of slight turning movements in its ownv plane. An adjusting screw 81, threadably mounted in the. bracket 77, engages a projection 82 upen the rear of the yoke, whereby the latter may be tilted to the extent desired. i

The bracket 77 is provided with an extension 83. In bearings formed in this extensionand in the frame 10, there is mounted a short shaft 84 to which is secured a crank 85. From the outer end of this crank there is suspended by a pivotal connection a wedge 86 which is preferably faced with friction material 87 on its side toward the disk 69, this side of the wedge being vertical;

is adapted to engage the lower end 90 of the yoke 89, whereby the downward movement of the wedge is limited. On the shaft 84 inside the machine frame there is a crank 91 which is connected by alink 92 with a crank 93 on a shaft 94, the crank 93 having an extension or handle 95, by means of which the shaft 94 may be rocked through a limited angle. By this system of links and levers the wedge 86 may be raised and lowered. Other means for rocking the shaft 94 will be described hereinafter. sufficiently, it acts against the end 88 of the yoke as an abutment to force the clutch element 69 away from the clutch element 6'7. Very little effort is required in order to accomplish this. result, for the reason that as soon as the wedging effect is sufficient to cause intimate engagement of the friction material 8'? with the clutch plate 69, the rotation. of the'latter serves to carry dow the wedge.

When the wedge 86 is pushed down In the operation of the machine the shaft 94 is arranged to be rocked in order to bringabout the descent of the wedge 86 and the disengagement of the clutch whenever more than a single sheet is fed at one time or whenever a sheet of unusual thickness is fed. To this end I employ a sheet detector, which may be the same or approximately Referring to I movable arm 98. This arm supports a horizontal 1 pintle upon which is loosely rotatable a wheel 99 adapted to be driven by the roll '71; A second 105 which is connectedby a link106 with a crank:

projection-101 upon "the same will strike an arm" 102 mounted upon the sl1aft94, by means of which the latter will =bero'cked'soas to' depresswedge-i 86 through the linkage previouslydescribed. In?

this manner an interruption of thesh'ee't feed is brought about before the double thicknesslof paper can 'cause any material trouble in the operation' of the machine. -'After- 'thelmachine has again' been" cleared,: the operator may 'raise'. the wedge 86 by movement of thehandle .95 inlthe direction'of th'e arrow inFigi B, enablingthe spring 76 to again cause: the engagement'of the clutch elements andthe resumption of the feed. For the sake of convenience I have provided a further means'for stopping" or starting the feed-:' ing machine manually from-the opposite side of. For this the machine near the folding machine. purpose I employ a reciprocable rod 103 which extends from the folding r'nachine'forward to a crank 104 on a crank shaft mounted in the frame On this same shaft there-is another crank 10'! on the shaft '94. In order that there maybe operation of the shaft 94, as fonins'tance by means. of the sheet detectorfwithout"affecting the-link 196, the crank 104,- 105 and the rod 103, the connection between the-link 106 and the crank 10'? is made by means of a pin and slot providing losti motion, as illustrated particularlyin Fig.6.-

The actual feeding ofsheets is effected by :a

suction wheel 108 ofLwell known form mounted upon a rotating shaft 109. On this shaft there is a gear 110 which is driven through 'idlers 111 and 112 from a gear 113 on shaft 70. The suction line leading to the wheel 108 is indicated at 114 in Figs. 1 and 2.

The gear 113 also meshes with a gear 115 on a shaft 116. On the opposite end of that shaft there is a further gear 117 which meshes with a gear 118 on the stub shaft 29 which carries cam 42, and by means of which that cam and the crank 28 are driven.

As each sheet leaves the feed roll '71 it travels onto a feed table 119 which is provided with spaced tapes 120 that are driven by a roller 121.

At their opposite ends these tapes run over pul- "ency for the forwardinner corners of the sheets to catch under one of the tapes 120 in travelling over the table, I cut' grooves 125 in the top of the table parallel to and adjacent the several tapes, and I provide a deflecting plate 126 having an inclined portion extending into one of the grooves 125, this plate being supported from a rod 127 along the length of which it is movable, and the rod being mounted at one end in a bracket 128 which is adjustable lengthwise of a bar 129, the opposite end of the rod 127 being 123 is a metal plate in I supported upon a transversebar 130. The plate 126 therefore may be caused to cooperate with any one of the grooves 125, and may be moved to'any position along such groove. Hence it may always be brought to the proper location .for a givenwidth of sheet being fed. For a further description .of this table construction reference may befhad to mycopending application serial No.i422,718, filed January23, 1930;

.nWhiIe I have disclosed herein an application of. the invention'to pile feeders specifically, it

should be understood that the invention may be employed also upon continuous feeders, in which event mechanism for advancing the fanned-out bank ofsheets'would be substituted for the pile raisingmechanism herein'described- In the operation of the machinejwhen fro any cause the sheet detector wheel 100 is rotated, the-arm 102 is moved through a portion of a revolution sufficient to produce a slight downward movement of the wedge 86. This downward movement is continued by a power impulse transmitted to the wedge by the clutch plate or disk 69, and the clutch elements 69 and 67 are therefore separated, whereuponthe shaft and the shafts 116, 29 and 109 cease to rotate. The'suction feed'is therefore stopped and the pile rais-- same. by hand, lowering the pile support 12 if' that seems desirable. The power drive of the machineoffers no obstacle to this manualoperation of the pile support, because the power connections are broken by the disengaged clutch. This is a distinct advantage over earlier constructions wherein the pile mechanism remained connected with the power source when the sheet feed was interrupted. In that-case if the operator attempted to lower the pile manually, the pile feeler would immediately set the raising mechanism into operation and the operator would receive a sharp jerk through his hand-crank. As soon as the double thickness of paper or other obstruction is removed, the operator may throw the handle 95 to raise the wedge 86 and thus throw in the power to cause a resumption of the feeding, or if more convenient this may be brought about by actuation of the slidable rod 103.

It will be observed that when the clutch elements 6'7 and 69 are in engagement no appreciable wear will occur upon the friction inserts 68, while at the same time the drive is quite positive. I

While in the foregoing description and in the accompanying drawings I have disclosed more or less in detail a certain embodiment of the invention, I desire it to be understood that such detail disclosure has been resorted to primarily for the purpose of fully illustrating the invention in accordance with the requirements of the statute, and is not to be construed as amounting to a limitation upon the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 7 1. In a paper handling machine, an endwise movable shaft having a clutch element fixed thereon. a second clutch element and a driving element secured together and loosely mounted on one end of the movable shaft, a fixed abutment for the second clutch element and the driving element, means for urging said shaft endwise to bring said clutch elements into driving relation, said means and said abutment preventing displacement of the second clutch element and the driving element longitudinally of the shaft and means for separating said clutch elements.

2. In apaper handling machine, an endwise movable shaft carrying a clutch element, a second clutch element and a driving element secured together and loosely mounted upon said shaft, resilient means for urging said shaft endwise to bring said clutch elements into driving relation,

and common means for separating said clutch elements and applying braking power to said shaft.-

3. In a paper handling machine, an endwise movable shaft carrying a friction clutch element,

5 a second friction clutch element loosely mounted to which sheets are fed, a feeder for feeding sheets thereto, means for advancing a quantity of sheets to the sheet feeder, a sheet detector, and means adapted to be operated thereby for disabling both said feeder and said advancing means while said first named means is being driven.

5. In a paper handling machine, driven means to which sheets are fed, a pile supporting platform, mechanism for raising the same, a sheet feeder adapted to feed sheets from the top of said pile to the driven means, a sheet detector, and means adapted to be set in motion thereby for disabling both said feeder and said mechanism wedge to further set the same and further sepawhile said first named means is being driven. 6. In a paper handling machine, driven means --to which sheets are fed, a sheet feeder adapted to feed sheets thereto, means for advancing a quantity of sheets to thesheet feeder, power connections from the driven means to said sheet feeder and advancing means, a sheet detector, and means adapted to be operated thereby for disabling said powerconnections while said first named means is being driven.

7. In a paper handling machine, driven means to which sheets are fed, a sheet feeder adapted to feed sheets thereto, means for advancing a quantity of sheets to the sheet feeder, a driving motor, power connections between said motor and the driven means, power connections between the driven means and said sheet feeder and advancing means, said last-named connections comprising a clutch, a sheet detector, and means adapted to be operated thereby for disengaging said clutch.

8. In a paper handling machine, a pile support, and mechanism for raising said pile support automatically to maintain the top of the pile at a given level, a sheet detector, means adapted to be set in motion thereby for disabling said mechanism, and manual means operatively associated with said mechanism for raising or lowering said pile while the automatic operation thereof is interrupted through the intermediacy of said detector.

9. In a paper handling machine, means for feeding sheets of paper, power connections for said feeding means,'said connections comprising a clutch, and means automatically operated by a predetermined thickness of sheets for stopping said feed, said last named means comprising a wedge adapted to be brought into operative engagement with one of said clutch elements and a fixed abutment, whereby the rotation of the said element serves to transmit a power impulse to the rate said clutchelements. 1

LESLEY R. TUFTS. 

